In many parts of Africa, animals such as the rhino and elephant are slaughtered for their precious ivory horns. Monkeys and leopards are hunted for their beautiful skins. Many other animals also die, en masse, just for profits.

If humans need money to survive, why do it by killing these creatures? Isn't it possible to earn a living without butchery? Is there a way to make money by caring for animals? An old man from China's Tibet autonomous region may have the answer to this last question.

Tobgye, 67, used to be a forest ranger in Kongpo Gyamda, a rural area in Nying-chi prefecture of Tibet famous for its dense forest and beautiful mountains. The forests are a source of income for local people, who provide hospitality services for visitors.

The forest is home to a type of monkey called macaques, which have fair fur and a red face. Though these monkeys are harmless, there is a conflict with humans in that they steal and eat crops from farms.

Farmers in Kongpo Gyamda stopped farming because the monkeys were eating their crops. If it were my country, Ethiopia, or elsewhere in Africa, the farmers would have built wooden watch towers and used catapults or arrows to repel the monkeys or even kill them.

But killing or attacking animals is prohibited in Buddhism, so the local people did not react in a violent way. Due to their beliefs, the Tibetans left the monkeys alone. They left the whole are a for the benefit of the monkeys.

But this left both sides with a dilemma. The farmers needed another way to earn a living as they did not farm anymore, and the macaques did not have anything to eat because there were no more crops.

Tobgye started to befriend the monkeys. When he started taking care of them 16 years ago there were 30 of them. At the time he used to recognize each and every one of them and feed them out of his meager income.

Now the number of macaques has increased 100 times to reach 3,000.The government subsidizes the cost of the food and the only source of revenue is the entrance fee collected from visitors. But it is a good indicator of the tourism potential of the locality.

Macaques are not unique to Tibet. What makes them special is that Tobgye and the people of his area have developed a special relationship with them and everybody can "dine" with them. Feeding macaques is an enjoyable experience.

It can be a little frightening to feed monkeys, especially if someone has never been so close to them before. They might think the macaques will bite or scratch them as they go to pick up food from their hand. Though the monkeys rush and jostle for food, they are careful with humans.

While the Tibetans keep the hospitality industry afloat, the macaques continue to help with sales and marketing activities by attracting more visitors every time. Along with the fresh air and peaceful environment, the macaques are integral to the attraction. People and animals work together for their mutual benefit. Unlike my fellow Africans who end up killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, the Tibetans are better at working with nature rather than against it.

The author is publications editor with the Government Communications Affairs Office of Ethiopia. He is currently on a 10-month exchange program hosted by the China-Africa Press Center. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.